Cool ancient names

[Kubz]

I was just thinking how cool some ancient names sound. If I ever have a son I just might name him after some obscure Mesopotamian ruler. Although if his name was Gilgamesh Kloeckner he'd probably be beaten daily by his peers, but he would have really a cool name. I think I'll stick to naming my pets these gnarly names for now.
Here are some of my favorite ancient names that should be brought back:
Nebuchadnezzar,
Assurbanipal,
Sargon,
Xerxes,
Mulwatallish,
Labarna,
Hammurabi,
Ramesses,
Minos,
Tilgath-Pileser
There are so many more kickn' names. There is another treasure trove of radical Classical names like:
Vercingetorix
Mithradites
Pericles
Belasarius
Croesus
Archaemides
Heraclius

Irregardless of what the actual historic figure did, what do you think the best sounding ancient names are?

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

Xerxes is good.

Labarna IMO sounds more like a cheap imitation laxative though.

 

[Loaf Warden]

I'd like to see English-speakers go back to some of the names we had in pre-Norman times. 'Alfred', 'Edward', and 'Edgar' are still fairly common, but all of the following have been abandoned:
Æthelberht
Æthelred
Æthelstan
Æthelwulf
Edred
Edwy
Æsc (pronounced 'Ash', more or less)
Heahbert
Ealhmund
Hlothere
Oslac
Aldwulf
Ceolwulf
Cynewulf
Radwald
Not to mention, of course, 'Beowulf'.

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

Loaf Warden, I want the world to start using the 'Æ' again.

How do you say half the names you wrote (out of interest) such as Edwy, Heahbert and Hlothere (kinda like Hello there?)?

 

[Riesstiu IV]

I think the name Hammurabi is still used. I came across a middle eastern man who had that in his middle name. Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar are well known in the history of Iraq... Saddam Hussein claimed to be a descendant of both rulers!

 

[Richard III]

The Mayans did well on that front, as did the Aztecs. Anyone?

 

[Esckey]

We talking ancient people names or places names or both?


I don't have any favorite people names but I like a few other names like Carpathian and Pelponisian(sp?) if I spelt that way to wrong to understand it's the name of that war where like 300 or 3000 (or some number like that) Spartans defended some pass from against a Persian(I think) army they all died in the end it was just them stalling for time to let Sparta and then Athens to be evacuated and stuff.

Anyways I like those names

 

[allhailIndia]

I think cool names are tool language biased. As far Indian names goes as well, what sounds cool in South India, sounds lame in North India

Apart from that, I think mythical names sound cooler. Consider Bellerephon, Aragorn, Glorfindel, Sauron, to name a few.

 

[Peri]

I love the sound of Roman names like Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus or Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus or Aulus Claudius Pulcher. So very very cool.

 

[jeriko one]

Imhotep is cool I think.

Leonidas
Artaxerxes
Pausinas

 

[Ossric]

what i find weird is that people use the names of norse gods to name their dog? Why is that?

Odin/Wodan
Thor
Balwer

Why can't we just name our dog Zeus, Osiris or Ares??

 

[Ossric]

wrong button, please ignore this reply

 

[Xen]

Xenophon!

Scipio Africanus

Agamemnon

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Well, the Mayans were the only ones to have a ruler named "Jaguar-Penis".

 

[Kubz]

Now I'm upset that they went with Smoke-Jaguar over Jaguar-Penis for the leader of the Mayans in Conquests.

 

[Martacus]

Originally posted by Ossric
what i find weird is that people use the names of norse gods to name their dog? Why is that?

Odin/Wodan
Thor
Balwer

Why can't we just name our dog Zeus, Osiris or Ares??

I think it's because most people nowadays tend to think of Viking types as being big, hairy beasts, much in the way that dogs with those sorts of names are. They didn't walk around in togas with neatly trimmed beards reciting poetry in marble-floored temples all day (Of course, neither did the Greeks, but we're talking about stereotypes here).

But I can think of one American name that suits dogs pretty well...Gompers(as in Samuel Gompers). Particulary suitable for Labrador Retrievers.

 

[BorgeoisBuffoon]

Personally, I'll take the name Julius Caesar.

Actually, I rather like Celtic names, like Cuenobolin(us) and Boudicca. I think my girlfriend wants her daughter to be named Boudicca considering how much a hero she is to her...

 

[SeleucusNicator]

I named my pet snake (a Columbian Boa Constrictor) Nebuchadnezzar. It is indeed a quality name.

Ancient names get really great when you include epiteths. This is especially true of Hellenistic monarchs. Antigonus the One-Eyed, Demetrius the Taker of Cities, etc.

 

[jack merchant]

Originally posted by BorgeoisBuffoon
Personally, I'll take the name Julius Caesar.

|Gaius Julius Caesar, to be precise (just like it was actually Appius |Claudius Pulcher). What's interesting is that plantation owners in Brazil apparently used to give their slaves the names of famous ancient Greeks & Romans - hence, footballers named 'Socrates'.

No doubt in times to come people will be fascinated by names such as 'Lori', 'Kevin' and 'Shanté'. .

 

[Japanrocks12]

This one: Confucius